Another Review of CBYH

It has been 56 years since Come Blow Your Horn first hit Broadway, but this first-ever play by the venerable Neil Simon has stood the test of time. The production by the Players Guild of Dearborn (in Michigan) is true to the lightly comedic spirit that Simon intended.

Sue Delosier, in her role as Mother, stole show with her deft handling of comedic timing and delivery. That comes from a long career spanning 70 productions. One member of the audience said “she was really into her part. The whole audience fell in love with her.”

Mother certainly needed a good sense of humour to deal with her eldest son, Alan Baker, played by Alex Gojkov. The role is that of a playboy, a kind of goof-off who enjoys the money from the family business but isn’t keen on being associated with it. Perhaps not too surprising as not many 30-year-olds can find much romance in the wax fruit business.

Younger son Buddy, played by Graham Dallas, has a lot of one-on-one stage time with Alan, especially in the first half of the play. They played off each other in a very natural manner, making it quite believable they were siblings. Their light banter was engaging.

Looking up to his older brother, Buddy decided he wanted to leave the nest and be with Alan. He found the allure of partying all the time to be alluring, but he finally realises he just wants to be a writer. This is Neil Simon’s persona in the play.

There was a slight wardrobe malfunction in the performance I saw, which turned out to be cute. Allan’s girlfriend Peggy (played by Jazzmin Sharara) was not able to get a coat on and walked off the set with one arm in and one out! Her both her and Allan’s other girlfriend (played by Nicole Harris) were delightfully portrayed. The cast was rounded out by Ron Eagal as Mr. Baker, and Marsha Barnett-Krause as Aunt Gussie. Her one-minute part at the conclusion of the play was perfectly cast for a cameo.

The most memorable scene in the play is where Mother tries to make notes during a succession of phone calls, but unable to find a pencil she tries to keep it all in her memory. She gets so confused she can’t remember anything coherent. Her young son comes into the room and goes to a small bar where he opens what appears to be a old-fashioned straw dispenser. It is full of pencils! Her reaction was hysterical.

The very modest set by Ross Grossman, meant to evoke an apartment in the east Sixties, New York City, set just the right tone for this production. As the first play in the 90th season of the Players Guild of Dearborn, this is a sure-fire hit.

Come Blow Your Horn directed by Kori Bielaniec in her debut as a director, ends its run today, October 1, 2017.

thanks to Sharon Williams and Dr. Matt Emanuele for their review comments.

Clifford Cunningham
Clifford Cunningham
Dr. Clifford Cunningham is a planetary scientist. He earned his PhD in the history of astronomy at the University of Southern Queensland, and has undergraduate degrees in science and ancient history from the University of Waterloo. In 2014 he was named a contributor to Encyclopedia Britannica. He is the author of 14 books on asteroids and the history of science. In 1999 he appeared on the TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Asteroid 4276 was named in his honor in 1990 by the International Astronomical Union based on the recommendation of its bureau located at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.